Throughout this paper you will be reading how gender based laws such as statutory rape in California discriminate against males and not females. You may ask “why is this issue?” well this is an issue because it goes against our 14th amendment which states all laws should protect both men and women equally. The case you are about to read is concerning this law. A law that discriminates against males, stating that even if they have sex at a young age women are the only ones to get hurt. Studies have shown to prove otherwise. You will also read about how this law was put in place to prevent teen pregnancies. Now how this gender-based law preventing more pregnancies than a gender-neutral law? Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County concerns gender discrimination which is the inequality between the sexes. A seventeen year old male was convicted under California law for statutory rape of a female only one year younger than him; she was forced to have sex with him. This was a case about two young adults, one not consenting to sex and the other forcing her to have sex. Under the law men, but not women, are liable for statute. This makes it illegal to have sex with a female under eighteen, whether or not she consents. The reason why the court felt this law should be in place was because they felt there was a greater risk for women then for men. There is no argument against the fact that the boy should be punished for his acts but not under statutory rape. Debates about this case can go both ways. One can say that California law does not discriminate against men or women, which was argued by Justice Rehnquist. Justice Rehnquist said, "the statute protects women from sexual intercourse and pregnancy at an age when the physical, emotional, and psychological consequences are particularly severe. Because virtually all of the significant harmful and identifiable consequences of teenage pregnancy fall on the female, a legislature acts well within its authority when it...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...“What are the major strengths and weakness of Dworkin’s theory of law as compared to a positivist or natural law perspective?” Discuss.
Arguably one of the most influential legal theorists of the 20th century, Ronald Dworkin’s dealings with law’s interpretation and integrity has lead to inevitable contradictions with that of positivist ideology, with his work essentially revitalising a method of thinking that had long been considered dead and buried. Perhaps...

...Substantive law is the statutory or written law that defines rights and duties, such as crimes and punishments (in the criminal law), civil rights and responsibilities in civil law. It is codified in legislated statutes or can be enacted through the initiative process.
Substantive law stands in contrast to procedural law, which is the "machinery" for enforcing those rights and duties. Procedural...

...Business Law
Term Paper
What does law mean to a lawyer, a law enforcement agency, a law breaker and a businessman?
Submitted To:
Mr. Shariq
Submitted By:
White Rose
Section D
BBA III
Lahore School of Economics
Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….3
Methodology…………………………………………………………………………6
What does law mean to a...

...attempted to clearly separate moral rules from "positive law." Austin's theory also falls under Constitutions, International Law, non-sanctioned rules, or law that gives rights.
Austin believed that people have different interpretations of what is wrong and right. Therefore, 'set' laws needed to be established that has to be obeyed. There are three aspects of Austin's theory of law - Analytical Jurisprudence, Legal...

...criticisms towards positivism and whether natural law theory may itself be disputed.
“Positivism is a model of and for a system of rules, and its central notion of a single fundamental test for law forces us to miss the important standards that are rules.” explains Dworkin on his attack on positivism. It is argued, by Dworkin, that both legal positivism and natural law theories are in reality searching for an answer to the question ‘what is...

...scholarly subjects. Individuals such as Roscoe Pound, H.L.A. Hart, and John Austin have provided individuals ranging across the disciplines with outstanding accounts of their personal philosophies about the law and the interpretation of it. When looking to the modern era, it is difficult to consider the philosophy of law without examining the much-esteemed Ronald Dworkin.
Part I – Adjudication of Hard Cases
In his well-regarded...

...Running Head: Controversies
Controversies in the Philosophy of Law
LS490-01: Unit 5
Kaplan University
November 16, 2010
The proper aims of law have been debated and tested through legislation and case law from the early start of America. Although it is clear that common good for society as a whole should be a prime consideration in creating and implementing law, the specifics of why laws are made...